The present invention relates to a support comprising one face provided with personalisation means, this information being applied by means of at least one graphic personalisation means, for example such as laser, inkjet or D2T2 (Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer), support personalisation techniques which are well known to those skilled in the art in the relevant field.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a support 1 of the aforementioned type, for example an identity card. The card 1 includes a card body 2, made of an opaque plastic material, capable of being personalised by the aforementioned means, for example such as polycarbonate, PET or PVC. The card body 2 is designed so as to be provided on its top face 3 with personalisation information 4 and 4bis of the card.
Generally speaking and by way of example, the personalisation information applied to the card body 2 includes, in reference to FIG. 2, a photographic representation 6 of the card holder and alphanumerical characters 7 relating to the holder's identity and address. The personalisation information can, for example, be inscribed on the surface 3 of the card body by means of a laser beam, burning the surface of the card body. Such a personalisation is illustrated by reference 4 in FIG. 1. The resulting local discoloration of the surface depends on the energy available, the inscription time and the material used for the card body.
The personalisation information can also be applied to the surface of the card body by personalisation means such as inkjet or D2T2, as depicted by reference 4bis. Different types of personalisation information obtained by the various aforementioned personalisation means can coexist on the same card.
A transparent protective layer 5 can be affixed to the top face of the card body by means of an adhesive coating with a view to protecting the photo or the personalisation text of the card.
These personalised supports are increasingly being used, for example, as identity cards. Due to their intensive use and to the sensitive nature of identity controls, they must be designed such as to be protected against any attempt to tamper with or falsify them, with the highest possible degree of security.
And yet, the numerous types of personalised supports currently available do not fulfil this condition. In particular, supports in which personalisation is carried out using a controlled laser beam can be easily falsified by anyone having the minimum technical skills required, performing a new laser personalisation operation to skillfully write over the first personalisation so as, for example, to add one or more characters to the name or address, or even so as to doctor the photograph, for example by adding hair. Considering the precision provided by laser personalisation technology, it is possible to circulate falsified cards which are very difficult to detect by simple visual examination.
This problem of falsification of a personalised support, for example by writing over the existing personalisation using the same graphic personalisation means as initially used, has been more particularly described in the context of laser personalisation. Indeed, this context is very favourable for falsification operations, due to the extreme precision that can be obtained in a laser personalisation operation. However, supports that are personalised by implementing other graphic support personalisation technologies such as, for example, D2T2 technology, which consists of printing by thermal sublimation, or inkjet printing technology, are no more protected against falsification attempts that aim to write over the personalisation information they contain.
The invention therefore aims to solve these disadvantages.